Savannah Alderman Mary Osborne marks off the last house on the city's 100 Worst Properties List. Osborne, who represents the city's second district, ran the excavator that took the ceremonial whack at the house. (Carl Elmore/Savannah Morning News)

Johnson shared his story with a handful of city officials who gathered to watch the demolition of a house at 807 E. Gwinnett, the last one on Savannah's second list of 100 worst properties.

Johnson's hope, he said, is that the neighborhood he had watched decline would come back and that businesses, too, would return.

With the ragged, two-story house demolished, the city is planning to develop the property to expand the Savannah Entrepreneurial Center, which is next door at Gwinnett and Paulsen streets.

Scroll to the bottom or click here to view video of the house coming down.

Click here to search a database of the city’s new and former lists of Savannah’s Worst Homes.

A new building could house a business incubator, said Rochelle Small-Toney, assistant city manager and director of the Public Development Bureau.

The idea, she said, is to allow new businesses to operate with reduced administrative costs until they become stable enough to move into their own spaces in the neighborhood,

"We're hoping to take this building down and, in about another 18 months or so, complete another major redevelopment for the neighborhood," Small-Toney said.

District 2 Alderman Mary Osborne had the honor of striking the first blows to the house. Donning an orange hard hat, she climbed into the cabin of an excavator. Extending the boom, she used its big bucket to take several swipes at the side of the house.

"Blight eradication is one of our major goals," she said, "and today, we're getting rid of a big piece of blight."

City workers soon took her place. They estimated the house would be down by the end of the day.

Of the homes on the second list, 44 have been demolished. The rest were renovated or brought up to code.

Osborne and Johnson moved to stand beside a large placard showing the city's next 100 properties targeted for demolition or renovation.

Roger Hopkins watched the activities from his perch on a second-floor balcony across the street. For the six years he has lived across the street, he said, the derelict house taken down Thursday has been a vacant eyesore.

"It helps a whole lot," he said. "It keeps the drug dealers out. And for the last six or seven months, there's been a young man going in and out of there to sleep."

From his spot behind the lectern, Mayor Otis Johnson looked across the 800 block of East Gwinnett Street and recalled a once-vibrant neighborhood.

As a boy, he lived three blocks north at 823 Rockefeller St. and went to school nearby.

Across the street from where Johnson stood Thursday, there once was a shoe repair shop. The owner, he said, hired neighborhood youngsters to fetch shoes from customers' homes.

They were paid a quarter a trip.

Johnson shared his story with a handful of city officials who gathered to watch the demolition of a house at 807 E. Gwinnett, the last one on Savannah's second list of 100 worst properties.

Johnson's hope, he said, is that the neighborhood he had watched decline would come back and that businesses, too, would return.

With the ragged, two-story house demolished, the city is planning to develop the property to expand the Savannah Entrepreneurial Center, which is next door at Gwinnett and Paulsen streets.

A new building could house a business incubator, said Rochelle Small-Toney, assistant city manager and director of the Public Development Bureau.

The idea, she said, is to allow new businesses to operate with reduced administrative costs until they become stable enough to move into their own spaces in the neighborhood,

"We're hoping to take this building down and, in about another 18 months or so, complete another major redevelopment for the neighborhood," Small-Toney said.

District 2 Alderman Mary Osborne had the honor of striking the first blows to the house. Donning an orange hard hat, she climbed into the cabin of an excavator. Extending the boom, she used its big bucket to take several swipes at the side of the house.

"Blight eradication is one of our major goals," she said, "and today, we're getting rid of a big piece of blight."

City workers soon took her place. They estimated the house would be down by the end of the day.

Of the homes on the second list, 44 have been demolished. The rest were renovated or brought up to code.

Osborne and Johnson moved to stand beside a large placard showing the city's next 100 properties targeted for demolition or renovation.

Roger Hopkins watched the activities from his perch on a second-floor balcony across the street. For the six years he has lived across the street, he said, the derelict house taken down Thursday has been a vacant eyesore.

"It helps a whole lot," he said. "It keeps the drug dealers out. And for the last six or seven months, there's been a young man going in and out of there to sleep."

to report a property

Savannah residents who want to nominate a property for the next list of 100 worst properties can call the city's information line at 311 or submit an online request by going to the city's Web site at www.ci.savannah.ga.us. In the upper left corner, click on Request City Info and Services.